Missing In Action
by ShadowOfApate
Summary: A plane crashes in Canada and all evidnce points to Weaver being on it, but was she? And what does her husband have to do with it? KW/KL
1. Default Chapter Title

Title: Missing In Action   
Part: 1/?   
Rating: R   
Pairing: Weaver, Legapsi, Ensemble   
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles   
Spoilers: Some season seven spoilers so be warned   
  
Summary: Who is Kerry's mysterious husband, and why has he suddenly contacted her after six years? What is his connection to a well known terriost group, and what exactly is Kerry's role in it?   
  
Note: I really shouldn't be posting the last of my other story plus these two parts together, however RL is a little hectic right now so I couldn't guarentee when I'd be able to post this and the next part. Beside's I'm too impatient to keep ya'll in suspence.   
  
Disclaimer: Finders keepers, loser's weepers   
  
  
  
Kerry shut her hiking pack with a finality that made her flinch. She   
hated herself for agreeing to go, hated herself for even considering   
it. The bastard had no right to do this to her after all this time. Why   
couldn't he just leave her alone? 'Maybe he's finally come to terms   
with the fact that I'm not going to take him back.'   
  
Kerry glanced around desperately one last time. She felt like she was   
forgetting something. She was packed and had let Randi know that she   
would be taking the week off. Yanking up the twenty-year-old bag, she   
started downstairs. If she didn't leave soon she'd miss her flight.   
  
It had been almost impossible to charter the flight to begin with,   
having to be satisfied with a private flight. The man in question had   
been less than ideal but she had no other choice. His blazing red hair   
and homey green eyes betrayed a darker, more savage spirit than she was   
comfortable with.   
  
Kerry grabbed the old leather jacket and gloves from her closet. She   
still had this nagging feeling... She stopped by the door and eyed the   
hall phone.   
  
Kim. She really should call the psychiatrist and let her know that she   
was going out of town. If she didn't show up after last night's   
misunderstanding, Kim would probably think she was avoiding her. Not   
that she hadn't considered that option. Then again Randi probably had   
the news of her 'vacation' all over the ER by now, plus running a pool   
on why she was going.   
  
Kerry began out the front door before stopping. On impulse, she went   
into the living room and removed the large African hunting knife from   
the fireplace. The leather jacket's former owner had specially   
tailored it so that the knife, in its worn leather sheath, fit snuggly   
into an improvised pocket in the back of the jacket. Once in place, it   
lay tight across the small of her back, handle down near her waist,   
angled toward her right hip. With the jacket and hiking pack on, the   
knife was impossible to detect, but she could draw it with a quick   
twist of her wrist.   
  
Maybe it wouldn't be needed, but if things worked out the way she   
feared, it could also save her life.   
  
Taking one last look around she flung the hiking bag onto her back and   
left. She had always known that the past would catch up on her, she   
just never expected it to happen so soon.   
  
  
  
Kim tapped her desk again, unable to keep her mind on the chart in   
front of her. She had been so sure of the signs. Rapid breathing,   
dilated pupils. She thought she saw the redhead check her out a few   
times. Kerry had always responded to her flirtation, so how could she   
have read her so wrong, or had she?   
  
Kerry's reaction to her last night had been strange. She knew the woman   
well enough to know that she wasn't one to get flustered no matter what   
the situation. So why did she get flustered last night? Could she   
honestly find her attractive and be in denial?   
  
There were too many questions and she had no answers. Maybe Kerry had   
just needed a chance to think it over...   
  
Kim made her mind up and left her office. She needed to talk to her.   
  
  
  
Kerry eyed the plane wearily. She never had much luck with them. All   
her flights ended up in disaster for some reason. Food poisoning,   
delays, rerouted flight plans, pilots having heart attacks, the list   
was incredible. At least, since this was a privately chartered flight,   
she hadn't had to go through airport security. Her knife would have   
set off the metal detectors, and that would have complicated matters.   
  
"Ma'am? We're ready to take off," said the co-pilot, standing just   
outside the plane's door.   
  
Kerry swallowed back her sudden flash of apprehension. He was Irish. It   
had to be a coincidence. Kerry climbed the steps to the plane, pausing   
just inside to take in the interior. Everything was maroon and black.   
Weird...most private and small jets were light in color.   
  
There were seats for six people if you included the sofa on each side   
of the small plane. She could see parachutes next to the door. That   
fact made her feel a little safer if for no other reason in case the   
plane went down.   
  
She silently chided herself. With her luck she shouldn't be thinking   
that. The two bulks of muscle in the very back caught her attention.   
They were dressed simply. She thought she could see a bulge under their   
left armpits. She dismissed that thought.   
  
"Ma'am, if you'll be seated...?"   
  
Kerry graciously dropped onto the couch right next to the door. The man   
with long curly brown hair smiled at her reminding her of a tarantula   
she once found in the bathtub in Africa. She was going to keep an eye   
on this one, just in case his bite was poisonous.   
  
  
  
"Do you know where Kerry is?"   
  
Randi's head snapped up quickly, the glint in her eyes catching Kim's   
attention. The desk clerk leaned over and grinned. "She called this   
morning and said she was taking the week off. It turns out she charted   
a flight to Northern British Columbia."   
  
Carter glanced up from his chart, trying to decide whether to chide   
them for gossiping about his friend or joining in. He had to admit that   
his curiosity was killing him. "Did she say why?"   
  
"No, only that she had some personal business to take care of."   
  
"Did she leave a number where she could be reached?"   
  
Randi eyed Kim with sudden interest. The same interest with which she   
always eyed potential gossip. "I'm only supposed to give it if there's   
an emergency."   
  
"It is one."   
  
Randi leaned her elbows on the desk and grinned like a vulture. "What   
kind of an emergency?"   
  
"A private one."   
  
Randi shrugged and straightened up, turning back to work. "Then I have   
no way of knowing if you're lying and Dr. Weaver left very specific   
instructions."   
  
Kim eyed the crowded desk. Everyone was acting like they were working   
but she could tell they were listening and if she told the desk clerk   
the truth then the whole hospital would find out. She couldn't do that   
to Kerry, she'd just have to wait or... "One of her friends was killed   
last night..."   
  
"I'll call her..."   
  
Kim smiled at Randi. "No, I really need to be the one. I have all the   
details."   
  
Randi was sizing her up. The desk clerk knew that, unlike Kerry, she   
was capable of wheeling and dealing on several levels. "You can give   
them to me."   
  
"I'm a close friend though, and it would probably be better coming from   
me."   
  
"How close?" Randi asked, archly jumping on the opening immediately.   
  
Kim winced inwardly. She knew better than that. "Give me the number."   
  
"Tell me and I will."   
  
"Give it to me, then I'll answer you."   
  
Randi removed a piece of scrape paper from a pile and held it   
thoughtfully. After a long moment she handed to Kim and waited.   
  
Kim checked the paper then grinned evilly. "We're friends."   
  
With that she spun around and walked toward the lounge aware that she'd   
just made an enemy of a very dangerous woman.   
  
  
  
Kerry kept her breathing slow and shallow, feigning sleep.   
  
She felt some amount of safety from the large 14-inch bone-handled   
hunting knife strapped to her back. Its hardness against her spine   
made it difficult to find a comfortable sitting position, and would   
have made sleep impossible in any event, but right now that discomfort   
was something she welcomed. It was a constant reminder of the danger   
she was almost certainly in, and would keep her sharp.   
  
Another reason why the knife was a totem of good fortune. It had been   
a gift from the woman that had inspired her to pursue medicine.   
  
It hadn't started out as anything she really been interested in. She   
had been a teenager, unsure about what she wanted from life, more   
unsure of what she wanted to do. She studied music and art. Her   
drawings were good enough for her to consider it for a career but it   
didn't feel right.   
  
Her foster parents, as much as they loved her, barely made enough money   
to survive from month to month. Most of their food came from their farm   
in Africa, and the rest went into research on the local animal life.   
  
She'd only gone into Americorps because they couldn't afford to send   
her to college, so the program was one of her only hopes. She spent the   
next three years traveling around the world, helping everyone from   
hurricane victims to ancient tribes in need of medical attention. Which   
is how she was first introduced to medicine.   
  
There had been an outbreak in one of the tribes native to the rain   
forest in South America. The Americorps had been sent in with the Red   
Cross and half a dozen other groups. Dr. Amelia Rynes had been the   
person in charge of the entire project. She was short, well toned, and   
a woman to be feared. Her long black hair was pulled back into an   
unruly French braid, her black eyes changing from sharp and snappy to   
warm and understanding in a moment's time.   
  
Kerry had been taken with the woman almost immediately. Dr. Rynes had   
noticed her interest in her and taken her under her wing. Teaching her   
everything from tracking to field medicine. Over the month in the rain   
forest, Kerry had discovered that the older woman had been orphaned as   
a child, spent her residency in Africa, and gone on to join GreenPeace   
and the corps.   
  
Then, one morning, she'd woken up to find the doctor gone. She'd left   
during the night leaving her favorite knife and leather jacket just   
inside Kerry's tent. All she'd been able to find out was that there had   
been a family emergency.   
  
After that she'd felt a strong passion to be a doctor. To take control   
of a chaotic situation and make it more bearable...   
  
A soft click caused her to open her eyes.   
  
The silver-colored gun was pointed straight at her forehead. Tarantula   
Boy smiled as his finger tightened on the trigger.   
  
In such moments, all human beings make a fundamental choice. Either   
they reject what they see, believing 'no, this can't be happening', and   
then they die in the paralysis of fear. Or they accept that yes, it is   
happening, and they proceed to deal with it as best they can.   
  
And Kerry Weaver was, of course, the "Deal With It" Queen.   
  
Kerry clenched her teeth and lashed out with both hands. The left   
seized the co-pilot's gun wrist and yanked it to the side, just as the   
gun went off. Kerry felt the hot puff of gunsmoke against her cheek,   
and the noise clapped her ears, stealing her hearing on that side, but   
the bullet went into the fuselage of the plane, not her cerebellum.   
  
Her right hand, in the same moment, thrust forward, the heel of her   
hand impacting the co-pilot's nose where it met his upper lip. The   
force of her blow was increased by her left hand pulling his arm in the   
other direction, and the cartilage of his nose was driven sharply   
upward into his skull. His dying thought was no doubt surprise that   
her being crippled didn't equate to her being helpless. Serves you   
right, she thought.   
  
The two other passengers, who had never introduced themselves, showed   
no such surprise. They were already reaching into their jackets.   
  
Kerry put the boot on her good leg against the dead man's chest and   
shoved hard, yelling something she could hear through the ringing in   
her own ears, and the corpse fell heavily against the first gunman,   
rendering him momentarily helpless. The second, an auburn-haired man,   
avoided the grisly missile, and as he drew his pistol, the sleeve on   
his left arm pulled up enough to reveal the tattoo on his left wrist.   
  
In a quick decision, she threw herself off the sofa and lunged toward   
the front of the cabin, scrambling to keep her feet and reach the   
cockpit and whatever momentary safety it might hold. Her crutch still   
lay abandoned, as there'd been no time to thread her arm through its   
cuff before the violence began.   
  
Although the man's initial shots had missed because of her unexpected   
reflexes, Kerry's safety was short-lived. The cabin of the plane held   
almost no shelter or cover, and even an able-bodied person couldn't   
escape for more than a heartbeat. Kerry knew this even as she made her   
desperate lunge for life.   
  
And then something struck her in the spine with the force of a   
piledriver.   
  
She screamed in shock and hurt as the impact of the bullet drove her   
forward and slammed her against the closed cockpit door. She felt the   
impact of the wall along the entire front of her body, in counterpoint   
to the sharp, concentrated injury in her back, and she slumped   
hopelessly against the rack of parachutes.   
  
Even then, she knew something was a little off. She hurt terribly from   
the gunshot, but not in the way she should. There was an intense ache,   
but not the burning, piercing sensation she expected, or the liquid,   
leaking feeling of her own blood filling the wrong cavities of her   
torso. By some miracle, she hadn't been killed.   
  
"Jesus, get 'im off me!" she heard the first gunman yelling behind her,   
still weighed down with the co-pilot's body.   
  
"Relax, I got her," the second replied, turning to pull the dead man   
off his partner. "Bloody bitch had some fight in her, though."   
  
The fury that thundered through her at his words swept away her   
feelings of helplessness and despair. She took hold of the nearest   
parachute and pulled herself painfully upright.   
  
"Bloody hell, she's up! Finish her, quick!"   
  
The hell you will, she thought in a moment of intense clarity.   
  
Clenching her fingers tightly around the chute's strap, she reached   
over with her other hand to the lever of the cabin hatch and yanked   
hard.   
  
The door opened, virtually exploding off its hinges as the sudden   
hurricane of air pressure ripped it away. Kerry had only the slightest   
instant to hear the gunmen screaming in shock before the suction yanked   
her violently out of the plane.   
  
Then she was tumbling in midair, countless hundreds of feet above   
ground with nothing between her and the earth plummeting upwards at   
her. The icy wind howled in her ears, drowning out her screams...   
  



	2. Default Chapter Title

Title: Missing In Action   
Parts:2/?   
Rating: R   
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles   
Spoilers: Season 7 be ware   
  
Disclaimer: Okay, kay, they all belong to TPTB, except the bad guys and the husband.   
  
  
  
Kim hung the phone up. Assuming that she left before eleven, then she   
should have been there by now, even with flight delays. This whole   
thing just felt wrong. She shook it off. Kerry was probably just taking   
care of whatever business she had before checking into the hotel.   
  
She left the lounge, glancing over at the desk to make sure that Randi   
was busy. The dark-haired clerk was frowning up at the television above   
the desk. The others crowded around, listening to the loud reporter.   
  
Kim could see the pictures of the reporter standing in front of   
snow-covered mountains, a cartoon picture of a plane in the corner.   
"... the private plane went down into the British Columbia Rockies two   
hours ago. It has been reported that there were three passengers on the   
plane, but we have yet to find out if there are any survivors."   
  
"Randi, did Kerry say what flight she took?" Carter's voice was barely   
restrained against the nervous emotion.   
  
"She said it was an 8:00 flight." Randi swallowed. "A private charter."   
  
Kim could see the tension rip through the desk area. "We don't have any   
proof that she was on it."   
  
"There's one way to find out." Randi grabbed the phone, dialing   
rapidly. Kim inched closer curious as to what she was doing. "Hello?   
Yes, this is Randi Fronczak with the Cook County ER. Our Chief of   
Emergency Services chartered a flight for British Columbia this   
morning.... Kerry Weaver... Are you sure? She said she was... No, thank   
you."   
  
Randi slammed the phone down. "Bastard."   
  
Kim sighed, unsure whether to be relieved or not. Just because he said   
Kerry Weaver wasn't on the flight didn't necessarily mean that she   
wasn't on the flight. Kerry depended on masks every minute of every   
day.   
  
  
  
Kim frowned at the phone and slammed it back down. Kerry still hadn't   
checked in and according to the land field the only flight they were   
expecting from Chicago had crashed in the middle of the wilderness.   
  
"Excuse me..."   
  
Kim and Randi both turned to the handsome man, taking in his flawless   
black suit. Next to him was an older man with pepper hair in an   
identical suit. Both men flashed FBI badges at them without any sign of   
emotion.   
  
"I'm Agent David Wilson and this is my partner Agent Chris Lee. We're   
looking for Dr. Robert Romano."   
  
"He's with a patient..."   
  
Agent Lee scowled at Randi with blazing eyes. "Where?"   
  
"Trauma two but..."   
  
The two agents were already moving toward the trauma room. Randi   
frowned slightly at Lydia. "Double agent or smuggling?"   
  
"I've got ten on murder."   
  
"Oh."   
  
  
  
Robert grumbled under his breath. "How dare she leave me with this...   
That bitch..."   
  
"Are you okay?"   
  
Robert glared at Elizabeth. "If you call my chief of emergency   
disappearing without any notice, leaving me to handle her job being   
okay, then I'm just dandy."   
  
"Robert, you know Kerry would never take off unless it was important."   
  
Robert's mood darkened more; that was the thing he did know, so what   
the hell could have been so important?   
  
  
  
Agent Lee burst into the trauma room, looking over the short, bald guy   
who had just stopped glaring at the curly redhead to glare at him.   
  
"Hey, you can't be in here."   
  
Agent Lee flashed his badge at him, silently daring him to be the   
bastard he knew the man was. "I'm Agent Lee with the FBI..."   
  
"Look, I don't care if you're Queen Lizzie, I want you out of here."   
  
Agent Lee noted the hard look the redhead threw at Romano. Probably   
named Lizzie. Behind him he felt his younger partner bristling in his   
own neutral way.   
"Sir, we're here about Dr. Kerry Weaver."   
  
Silence. Well at least the little insect knew when to shut up. The bald   
man tore his eyes away from his patient and stared at them. "What about   
her?"   
  
"I'm afraid there's no easy way to say this... "   
  
  
  
Kim entered the lounge and took a seat. She didn't belong there and she   
knew it, but Kerry was her friend. They may not have known each other   
long, but they knew each other enough to care about each other. If   
Robert saw her, he didn't acknowledge her.   
  
The two FBI agents nodded to each other and the older man, Lee, stepped   
forward. "I'm sure you've all heard about the plane crash in Canada.   
About an hour ago it was confirmed that there were no survivors."   
  
"Was Kerry on the plane?"   
  
Agent Lee stared at Kim a long moment before nodding. "Yes, ma'am. She   
was."   
  
Carter stood up angrily and glared at the agent. "No, she wasn't. We   
called and asked. There was no record of Kerry getting on that plane."   
  
"You're correct, Kerry Weaver didn't get on that plane, but Morgan   
Campbell did."   
  
"I don't understand." Carter was clutching at straws. Kim could see   
that. The young man had been a close friend of Kerry's, and recently   
Kerry had been reaching out to him again.   
  
"She used her middle and married name to charter the flight."   
  
"Why would she do that? She hasn't spoken to him in almost six years."   
This felt wrong to her. How could the FBI confirm something like this   
so fast? Why did the plane crash to begin with?   
  
"From what we found out she was on her way to Fort Nelson to meet her   
husband, a well-known IRA terrorist."   
  
Kim snapped her head around to gauge Carter's reaction. Searching for   
some hint as to what he thought about all this. The young man clenched   
his right hand, then sat back down, going strangely quiet.   
  
"You expect us to believe that she was involved with a terrorist?"   
Peter asked.   
  
"Look, we've been monitoring Dr. Weaver's activities for sometime. She   
used her house to hide IRA soldiers under the disguise of taking in   
boarders. She's been in constant contact with Boyd Campbell for the   
last five years."   
  
"And she was going to meet her husband because...?"   
  
"He has been planning to attack the UN in Washington and was going to   
use Dr. Weaver. After all, what could possibly be suspicious about a   
crippled doctor? Now, if you'll excuse us..."   
  
Robert waited until they left before breaking the shocked silence. "Dr.   
Kovac, I want you to take over Kerry's job until I appoint a permanent   
replacement."   
  
Kim frowned. She didn't buy any of this. Maybe it was just wishful   
thinking, but she just didn't see Kerry being involved with the IRA.   
She couldn't even bring herself to hear how she got that man away from   
the MP's.   
  
Maybe it was time to use some of her vacation time.   
  
  
  
Robert grabbed the younger agent's arm and yanked him around. He didn't   
like to be jerked around, and he sure as hell didn't like to be lied   
to, especially about one of his children. "I want the truth. Now."   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."   
  
Robert glared at the two men. "I mean, I know Kerry and she would   
never..."   
  
"Oh, really? Just like she'd never break hospital rules?" Wilson   
scoffed at him and walked away without looking back. Lee grinned and   
followed his partner out to their car.   
  
Robert ground his teeth. He didn't care what they said. Kerry might   
break a few rules here and there, but she would never be involved with   
something that might cost lives. He was going to get to the bottom of   
this if it was the last thing he did.   
  
  
  
"I'm going to kill that sorry son of a..." Kerry winced against the   
multitude of pains she felt.   
  
It was bad enough that she'd been shot. It was really bad that her   
crutch had been left in the plane. It was even worse that she'd ended   
up in a free fall, struggling to get that damned parachute on, and that   
when she'd pulled the release it had wrenched her already battered body   
severely. But the one thing that really bothered her was the fact that   
she'd seen the outline of another figure against the darkening sky as   
he'd parachuted to safety. Which meant that on top of having to walk   
across miles and miles of wilderness for help in winter, she was also   
being hunted.   
  
It was the pilot, probably, as the two shooters in the cabin with her   
couldn't have grabbed parachutes in time. They were doomed as soon as   
she depressurized the plane - aww, poor babies, she thought   
sarcastically - but the pilot would probably have his own parachute in   
the cockpit with him. And he'd undoubtedly be one of Them.   
  
"Figures," she growled to herself. "Robert probably had this all   
planned to get back at me for last month's expense report."   
  
She added that to the list of her current woes, and did a quick tally   
of her injuries. Her face and chest were going to be one solid mass of   
bruises from slamming against the front of the cabin earlier, and that   
landing a few minutes ago had been no picnic either. Skydiving in a   
controlled jump with two good legs is one thing. An improvised escape   
from a thousand feet or so with one-and-a-half is another matter   
entirely.   
  
But the big question still remained: why wasn't she dead? She'd been   
shot square in the spine...   
  
Kerry reached around to her back. The movement set off a dozen   
protests from different areas of her body, but she could feel no blood   
or gunshot wounds. In fact, the only thing she did feel back there   
was...   
  
Oh. Oh, of course. God bless you, Amelia...   
  
Kerry pulled the knife sheath from the pocket in the back of the old   
jacket. The sheath was marred and distorted by something imbedded in   
it, but it was now clear what had happened. By some absolute miracle,   
the bullet had struck her right in the center of the big knife's flat   
blade, distributing its impact along the blade's entire surface,   
instead of a single point that would have punched through her body   
completely.   
  
The bullet was still in the sheath, completely flattened. Prying it   
carefully out, she saw that it was some kind of soft-nosed plastic   
bullet, rather than lead or steel. That made sense, she thought.   
She'd read somewhere that federal agencies had developed something   
similar for their agents who had to carry guns on airplanes. The   
bullet wouldn't penetrate a plane's hull, thus endangering passengers   
and crew, but would still have been lethal to a human body.   
  
Those guys who tried to kill her had been professionals, or at least   
got their armament from professionals. So the co-pilot's first shot to   
the head, at point-blank range, while she "slept", would have killed   
her, but not them. She'd nearly been caught by surprise, since she   
hadn't been expecting them to do something so dumb as fire guns in a   
pressurized aircraft, but now she saw that they'd been more on the ball   
than she thought. Dangerous to underestimate Boyd or anyone who worked   
for him.   
  
Of course, that went for her, too. Those guys probably expected to   
take a quick flight, pop the crippled chick, and it's Miller Time.   
They never thought a short, slim woman with a limp could turn their   
lives into a Wesley Snipes movie.   
  
Kerry replaced the knife in the hidden pocket of the worn leather coat,   
grateful again to the woman who gave them to her, along with so much   
more. The feel of Amelia's coat around her made Kerry imagine that, in   
her darkest hour, her mentor and friend was there to hold her and give   
her strength.   
  
She pulled it tighter and leaned against a large boulder. Her shooter   
had gone down north east from her, far enough away to give her a head   
start, but with her limp it wasn't much of one.   
  
Now, there were only a few minutes of daylight left. If she was going   
to survive she needed to find someplace to spend the night. Kerry   
started down the long trail as the forest lit up for miles as an   
expanding fire exploded high into the sky.   
  
  
  



	3. Default Chapter Title

Title: Missing In Action   
Part: 3/?   
Rating: R   
Pairing: Weaver, Legapsi, Carter, Benton.   
Spoilers: Season seven.   
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles   
  
Note: For those of u who don't like Hitchcock. John Robie is from the movie to Catch A Theif, staring Cary Grant and Grace Kelley. John Robie was an ex-cat burgualr known as the cat. He was also an ex french resistence member, and did time in jail.   
  
Disclaimer: U know this song and dance. Robie belongs to Hitchcock and paramount.   
  
  
  
Kerry came to a stop next to the river. She'd been following it   
downstream all night. She knew that if she followed it far enough it   
would take into one of the state parks and, hopefully, a park ranger.   
  
The sun was just beginning to rise, telling her it was time to sleep.   
It had been a hard decision, but Kerry had finally admitted to herself   
that the only real advantage she had over her attacker was her time in   
Africa. She knew how to move at night and how to cover her tracks.   
There was no way her attacker would try to go after her at night.   
  
Plus, with the weather, it was dangerous for her to sleep at night. The   
temperature had dropped past freezing. The last thing she needed was to   
get hypothermia. As it was, it had been a struggle to keep moving and   
not give in to the temptation of sleep.   
  
Glancing around, she spotted a very small, black hole under a large,   
old tree. She limped over to it and bent down. It was partially hidden   
by underbrush, but she could see it was just big enough for a small   
human to fit into. Kerry'd often wished to be taller, but now she was   
glad that wish had never been granted.   
  
Kerry threw the parachute pack inside, glad that she'd kept it. The   
parachute would prove to be one of her only means of heat.   
  
  
  
Kim slammed the phone down trying to keep her frustration under   
control. Five different airlines and not one flight leaving for British   
Columbia for two days. Two days she couldn't wait. She needed to leave   
immediately.   
  
"Dr. Legaspi?"   
  
Kim looked up from her desk to see Carter standing in the doorway. "I'm   
not on..." she began tiredly. She really didn't have time for this.   
  
"Actually, Randi says you've decide to take a vacation."   
  
Kim eyed him warily. She knew the young man was a good person, but what   
if he told Romano why she was leaving? "That's right."   
  
"I don't suppose that you're going to Canada..." he replied, his   
expression telling her it was more than an idle inquiry.   
  
Kim glanced at him, working hard to conceal her surprise. It was like   
he had read her mind. "And what if I am...?" she asked, noncommittally.   
  
Carter leaned against the doorway. "My family owns a private airline,"   
he informed her casually. "And I've been thinking I need a vacation   
lately, too."   
  
They looked into each other's eyes, and it was clear that their words   
were only a cover for the real thoughts being shared.   
  
Kim smiled at him. She liked him, liked him a lot.   
  
  
  
Carter took the single suitcase that Kim had brought and led her   
towards the small jet. They hadn't spoken much on the way and,   
truthfully, he didn't know what to say to her. He knew that she had   
been working with Kerry quite a bit in the last few months but that was   
about all he knew.   
  
He let her walk up the metal stairs before following her into the   
plane. Her thin frame paused as she caught sight of the tall, muscular   
man that was already seated. Carter was surprised when she simply sat   
across from Peter with a nod.   
  
"Why are you here?" Kim could understand John, but Peter didn't strike   
her as being close to Kerry.   
  
Peter moved his coat so Carter could sit before he answered. "I owe   
her." He stood abruptly. "I'm going to go talk to the pilot."   
  
John waited until Peter had disappeared into the cockpit before he   
spoke. "He and Kerry knew each other before they were at County, but   
neither of them will talk about it. From the way they act around each   
other, you'd think the other doesn't exist, but that's all it is, is an   
act."   
  
The fierce loyalty that was in Peter's eyes was not the look of a   
simple colleague, but Carter was right. She'd seen them work together a   
few days before. They'd barely acknowledged each other, and when Kerry   
spoke she only mentioned him in passing.   
  
Kim frowned slightly as she thought about the story Kerry had been   
telling the other night. "... Boyd and Peter had to..."   
  
"They knew each other," she said aloud.   
  
Carter gave her a puzzled look. "That's what I just said."   
  
"No, I mean Kerry's husband. Peter knows him." How could she have   
missed it? It had been right there the entire time. Kerry had been so   
happy and carefree retelling that story.   
  
Carter's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure?"   
  
"No. It's just a guess. She was talking about Boyd and a surgeon named   
Peter."   
  
"I guess it's possible. Kerry never told me about her husband, and   
Peter doesn't talk much outside of work, anyway." Carter shook his   
head. "I'll ask him about it later..."   
  
He suddenly took interest in picking invisible lint off his blue jeans.   
"Dr. Legaspi..." he began.   
  
"Carter, you're giving me a ride. I think that entitles you to call me   
'Kim'."   
  
"Okay...Kim," he started again. "If you don't mind my asking, why are   
you here?"   
  
"I'm her friend," she said carefully, revealing nothing. Jeez, first   
Randi, now Carter. Kim didn't mind questioning people; after all it   
was her job. You ask question, you observe their behavior, you evaluate   
them. But she didn't like having it done to her; that was the fun of   
her job she could act as crazy and disturbed as she wanted and then   
simply say it was research. They, in turn, just had to except it and   
move on.   
  
"Kerry had...HAS a number of friends, but you don't see anyone else   
here." Carter was telling the truth, at least partially. Kerry did have   
a number of friends, despite what the ER staff thought; it was just   
that only a small handful lived in America.   
  
"I don't believe that Kerry was involved in the IRA, or that she would   
just die without a fight. Plane crash or no plane crash." Kim was   
pleased with herself. She had answered the question without giving too   
much away. Just as a good psychiatrist should.   
  
"Hmm." Carter obviously agreed with her words, or he wouldn't be here.   
But he also clearly knew she wasn't telling him the whole truth. "Is   
that the only reason?"   
  
Kim met those soft brown eyes. Most women would melt under that   
compassionate gaze and probably throw themselves into his arms. Then   
again, most women weren't gay. Kim tried to hide the smile threatening   
to surface as he turned on that small pout Kerry had told her about. He   
was good, she had to give him that at least. "I care about her."   
  
John had been on the verge of pointing out that most of the staff cared   
about the strong woman, but any questions he had died when he took in   
the look on her face. He felt a small, disappointed pang as he realized   
that the blonde psychiatrist was immune to his charms. It was the   
Maggie Doyle thing all over again. "You're in love with her, aren't   
you?"   
  
"Not yet," she admitted easily, "but I think I could fall for her if   
she..." Kim trailed off, trying to decide how much to tell him. He was   
Kerry's friend, but Kerry was a very private person.   
  
"If she what?"   
  
"She said she wasn't interested in women, but..."   
  
"You don't believe her," John broke in, a little too quickly. He just   
couldn't picture the two women together, as much as his mind was trying   
at the moment. What could someone like Kim see in Kerry? No, strike   
that. Kerry had many attractive qualities, as he well knew. But how   
could Kim think Kerry was...? "Why?"   
  
"You mean what could I possibly see in a middle-aged, short-tempered   
invalid?"   
  
John felt a surge of anger that would've made Kerry proud. "That isn't   
what I meant. I meant..."   
  
"I know what you meant." Kim interrupted softly. That's how a lot of   
people viewed Kerry and John wanted to know if she did too. "If you and   
Peter can see past all her barking then why can't someone else?"   
  
John yielded the point, remembering how happy Kerry always looked when   
she was in the beautiful Kim's company. He couldn't recall Kerry ever   
reacting that way to anyone else, not even him. Could it be that Kerry   
returned Kim's affections? He didn't like that thought.   
  
John slumped back and eyed her. His own reaction bothered him somewhat.   
Kerry was a great person, and deserved to have someone in her life who   
loved her. And even while angry at her, John could see how attractive   
Kim was. He should be happy for the two of them, and he couldn't   
really blame Kerry if she...   
  
No, he thought. Kim could say what she wanted, but that didn't mean it   
was the truth. And whether it was the truth or not, Kerry wasn't gay.   
John swore to himself to keep an eye on this woman.   
  
  
  
Peter softly flicked the intercom off. John and Kim had stopped talking   
a few minutes ago, and it was clear to him that they had nothing else   
to say to each other. He was going to have to keep an eye on those two;   
if Kerry was alive the last thing she'd need was two people who cared   
deeply about her in conflict with each other.   
  
It still amazed him after all this years how much Kerry could affect   
people. They either loved her or hated her. There never seemed to be an   
in-between with her. The problem was Kim and John were both on the love end   
of the scale.   
  
If anything, it would make for an interesting trip.   
  
  
  
Kerry woke up immediately. Her instincts were working overtime against   
the pain throughout her body. She could see the dying light through the   
brush covering her hiding place. She shifted in the small space and   
pulled herself out.   
  
Her bad leg was stiff and aching worse than it had since... She pushed   
that thought away and crawled out from under the folded, bunched   
parachute she'd been using as a sleeping bag. She had no idea how she   
was going to be able to do a lot of walking, even if she'd had a   
crutch.   
  
Grabbing the tree, she pulled herself up and tested her leg. She   
groaned, biting her lip to keep from screaming out from the pain. The   
muscles were threatening to give out.   
  
Kerry's head snapped around. She thought she'd heard... It sounded like   
a branch snapping. Heavy breathing... and it sounded like it was coming   
closer.   
  
  
  
Kim dropped her suitcase inside her bedroom. John had offered to take   
it again, but she didn't let him. He was a nice man, but now there was   
a tension between them. They were on the same side, looking for the   
same ending, and that was the problem.   
  
At least she hoped he was on her side. His stubburn insistance that they   
trust some ex-thief turned turned spy was suspicious, but he wouldn't   
take no for an answer, simply saying that he was a friend of Kerry's.   
  
Peter she still couldn't get a handle for, but she had suspicions. The   
man was sly and as good with masks as Kerry was.   
  
"Hey you coming?"   
  
Kim turned to see Peter standing in the door. He was giving her that   
neutral 'I'm not really interested but I'm asking anyway' look. "Is he   
here already?"   
  
"You could say that." Peter gave her a sly grin. "We found him in our   
room waiting for us."   
  
Kim just couldn't understand how this guy could help them, but right   
now she didn't have any other ideas. She let Peter escort her down the   
sidewalk to the room right next to hers. She could see the tall, tanned   
man talking to John already.   
  
His body was lean and firm. The body of an Olympic gymnast. She'd bet   
he was even double-jointed. Probably a light weight-lifter too. He was   
in good shape for someone his age. She closed the door and took a seat   
where she could see every movement, every facial expression, hear every   
sound.   
  
The stranger turned his attention to her, his hands stuffed casually   
into his black slacks. He propped himself up on the cheap dresser and   
crossed his black leather loafers. The smile that crossed his eerily   
smooth skin seeming like a cat.   
  
"Well now, you must be Dr. Legaspi. I'm John Robie."   
  
  
  
The nerves tingled at the back of her neck as she froze, listening   
intently. He wasn't experienced in the bush, thank God, or he'd have   
been able to creep up on her silently.   
  
She knelt slowly, ignoring the screaming ache, and peered carefully   
through the trees and foliage at knee-level. Sometimes you could see   
another person's feet before their face...   
  
In this case, she heard him first.   
  
"Got you...!"   
  
He came around from behind her tree, swinging some sort of curved,   
round blade that was the size of a small basketball to slice her up in   
the same movement. It was a good, killing stroke that would have cut   
her throat instantly, if she'd been standing.   
  
Someone thinking less clearly might have rolled away from him and tried   
to run, but this would have been disaster. The bastard has ten inches   
and a hundred pounds on her, and could have caught up to her and killed   
her before she got a dozen feet away.   
  
She did the opposite, standing quickly, no matter how much it hurt.   
She had a handful of the parachute's material in her left hand, and she   
swept it like a cape in front of him. He spat an oath as the tough,   
silky material covered his face and entangled his arms.   
  
Now, her innermost voice told her. You won't get another chance.   
  
She threw all her weight against him, pressing his shrouded body   
against the tree, drew her knife and stabbed straight into him.   
  
She felt it sink in, the warm blood rushing down onto her arm. The   
sickening crunch and agonizing scream was her only clue as to where   
she'd gotten him. She gritted her teeth and twisted it around...held it   
until he was still...then yanked it back out.   
  
Stepping back, she pushed him away, taking little interest as his limp   
bulk went down and stayed that way.   
  
Kerry's knees gave out, and she sat down hard, exhaustion and   
adrenaline clashing within her. She shook from more than the cold.   
  
After what seemed like forever, she reached over and pulled the   
bloodied parachute off the pilot's face. His mouth and eyes were open,   
blank and vacant. The sheer finality of it pierced her. She'd killed   
those other men on the plane and had no time to confront it, but here   
it was in front of her. Proof that she'd taken a life. Broken her   
oath as a doctor. God damn you, Boyd, for putting me in this   
position...   
  
Rolling onto her knees, she cleaned her knife with the chute, sheathed   
it, and tried to stand up. Her leg searched for a solid surface,   
finally finding an uneven batch that seemed lower than where her other   
leg was.   
  
She pushed off with her hands and tried her leg. It felt weak and   
overused but she had no choice. Pulling her hands up...   
  
Involuntarily, she yelled out; the pain too much. Her leg crumpled and   
dragged her down after it.   
  
Kerry was just glad that the snow was so soft. Her hands reached out to   
take some of the impact, but her body was tilting to the side all of a   
sudden. Kerry felt panic rising as she realized that the fall was   
taking too long.   
  
Her left shoulder hit first, her body jerking her into a continuous   
roll over the painfully rocky surface. Kerry reached out and grabbed at   
the rocks that littered the surface snapping her body around onto her   
back as she continued in a impossibly fast downward slide.   
  
Opening her eyes, she let out a silent scream. She was sliding down a   
cliff toward a straight drop...   
  
  



	4. Default Chapter Title

Title: Missing In Action   
Part:4/?   
Rating: R.   
Pairing: KW, KL, JC, PB   
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles   
Spoilers: Season Seven   
  
Disclaimer: They belong to TPTB, I'm just taking them out for a much needed work out.   
  
  
  
  
Kerry let out a piercing scream as her body flew out into empty space.   
The dark of night blocked the drop she knew was there from her eyes.   
The bitter wind ripped at her screams as she plummeted down, faster and   
faster. She struggled to control the overwhelming fear....   
  
  
  
" ... During the sixties, the world's top governments created a secret   
squad to battle terrorism. It was known as UAIA. United Anti-Terrorist   
Intelligence Agency. It worked well enough at first, but sometime   
during the late 70's, early 80's, they began to notice that several   
major factions they were after seemed to know all their moves in   
advance. It was finally speculated that someone had infiltrated their   
top ranks, but they couldn't figure who it was, so they did the only   
thing they could, they flushed out the agency and started from   
scratch...Dr. Carter, are you sure you're all right?"   
  
"Yeah, I'm - ULP! - fine..."   
  
Robie paused as the helicopter lurched under a sudden gust of wind. He   
hid the smile that was playing across his lips as young Carter went   
from a light green to a forest green. The young man was dedicated to   
Kerry, he had to give him that.   
  
"After that they didn't have anymore trouble," he went on, as casually   
as if they were idle conversation in a café, "except they still   
couldn't penetrate the IRA. At first they thought it was simply that   
the group was one step ahead of them."   
  
"What happened?"   
  
Robie glared playfully at Dr. Legaspi, his eyes falling to her legs for   
just a moment. "Well, being the brilliant fellows they were, they posed   
as weapons dealers. Needless to say it ended with three high-ranking   
agents dead, and five others wounded."   
  
"What does all this have to do with Kerry?" Kim couldn't help   
interrupting. This guy had the personality of a cat eyeing up a large   
juicy bird.   
  
"One of the original agents, an ex-thief and French resistance member,   
realized that the only way to fool the IRA was to fool the agency, so   
he secretly recruited a young doctor who just happened to be dating an   
IRA member."   
  
"Kerry." Peter glared at Robie, his hand involuntarily crumpling the   
coke can he'd been nursing.   
  
"Of course, at the time she wasn't aware of Dr. Campbell's...hobbies.   
At least not until the agent in question approached her. Naturally, she   
had some reservations, but in the end she agreed to help."   
  
Kim heard the low crunching of the can turn into a louder screech as   
Robie continued to talk. She glanced over at the surgeon and saw that   
he had ripped the can into three pieces. His dark eyes had murder in   
them as he kept them locked on Robie.   
  
"This...'agent' who recruited her," she said with the trace of a sneer.   
"Anyone we know?"   
  
Robie just smiled pleasantly.   
  
  
  
The raging whirlpool engulfed her body, ripping at her body violently.   
The churning depths slamming her carelessly against the jagged boulders   
that seemed to appear from nowhere. Each breath felt like a thousand   
knifes to her lungs. She tried to swim for shore, tried to grab   
something, anything. Each movement was overwhelming and sluggish.   
  
The roar of the river in her ears became a mere whisper against the   
distant thunder. The crashing wave filled her vision with foaming white   
and blues, then quickly retreated, letting her head come up for another   
breath.   
  
The thunder was closer now, the water speeding up and becoming more   
violent. She felt the subtle change in the water and searched for the   
source. Straight ahead she could see the water disappearing...   
  
  
  
"...The agency confirmed everyone on the plane to be dead, yet only   
three of five bodies were found. Kerry was not one of them. They also   
neglected to report that two of the parachutes were missing."   
  
"That doesn't make sense. Surely they know people will notice that sort   
of thing." Kim knew from experience just how dumb the government could   
be, but this was extreme, even for them.   
  
"Yes, well, the plane just 'happened' to explode before any outside   
people could come in."   
  
"My, that was convenient," Kim said, her face and tone flat.   
  
"Wasn't it, though?" Robie turned and kneeled behind the pilot checking   
the small computer screen between the pilot and co-pilot's seat.   
  
Kim glanced at her two companions from County General. They were   
obviously as out of their depth here as she was, but neither one seemed   
inclined to say so. Peter Benton had that graven-in-stone face he did   
so well, saying he wasn't backing out of things no matter how tough   
they became. Carter was trying to muster a similar look, but his mild   
face wasn't really built for that particular expression. Besides, it's   
hard to look tough while carefully closing the seal on a used   
air-sickness bag.   
  
She moved to the seat that Robie had abandoned and spoke quietly. "What   
exactly are we doing? Assuming that Kerry is still alive, it's too dark   
to try and find her."   
  
Robie simply grinned as the red circle on the screen beeped twice, then   
stopped moving.   
  
  
  
The water felt like a dark grave sucking the last of her energy from   
her body. The pressure of the waterfall pushed her further under. She   
pushed with her legs trying to get to the surface. Her left leg not   
responding to her commands.   
  
The world around her began to fade as she lost the ability to fight.   
  
  
  
Kim followed Robie to the shore. She could see a waterfall next to the   
pool. Slowly, she traced it to its top. If she had to hazard a guess,   
she'd say it had to stretch over thirty stories. 'I should keep this   
in mind the next time I want to go rafting.'   
  
"The signal's coming from over there."   
  
Kim glared at Robie's back as he briskly walked toward a large boulder   
next to the river. He refused to say why he knew she was alive or what   
that signal was, and frankly, she was getting put out.   
  
She fell into step automatically, aware of Peter and John acting as   
their shadows. She was getting tired of Robie's games. Deciding to put   
an end to all these questions and games. She walked around the   
boulder...   
  
"Oh God..."   
  
  
  
She ended up working late again. Three hours... four... maybe it had   
been five. All she knew was that it had seemed to drag on forever.   
Gradually draining her until she was a zombie, to tired to even yell at   
Randi.   
  
At the same time she didn't want to go home. It was a large house and   
since Carter had moved out it had seemed enormous to her. Enormous and   
lonely. It wasn't from a lack of friends, she had plenty of those. More   
like from a lack of a lover.   
  
She wasn't one of those women who believed that she had to have a man   
in her life to be happy, but it was always nice to have someone waiting   
for you when you got home. The problem came in with her job. Long   
hours, little benefits, and no time for anything else.   
  
She dropped her suitcase next to the door, too tired to drag it into   
her office. Throwing her coat and gloves in the general direction of   
the closet, she quickly went up the stairs. Unbuttoning her blouse on   
the way.   
  
All she wanted was to strip down and climb underneath the heavy African   
quilt her mother had made for her. She frowned slightly as she took in   
the open bedroom door. She also made a habit of keeping it closed, but   
she'd also been in a hurry when she'd left.   
  
She entered the dark bedroom and propped her crutch next to the bed,   
simultaneously stripping off her blouse and shoes. The light material   
fell softly to the floor next to her discarded loafers.   
  
She reached down and began to unbutton her pants. Her right hand   
cramping slightly from all the writing she'd had to do. She let her   
hands drop to her sides and sighed. It looked like they were staying on   
tonight... this morning.   
  
Warm arms encircled her waist from behind. A tall, lean body pressing   
into her back. Slender graceful hands took up where her hands had   
failed. "Let me..."   
  
She knew that voice, a voice that shouldn't be there, it didn't belong   
there. Not in her bedroom. Then why did it fill so soothing? So right?   
She felt herself leaning back into the strong arms and moved away.   
  
She turned to those icy blue eyes. They were so alive and passionate,   
and right now questioning. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, making it   
impossible to tell her friend to leave. Not that she really wanted to.   
  
A gentle breeze slide across her chest causing her to remember that she   
was topless. Her arms started to rise to cover her chest, but her   
friend took hold of her wrists. Holding them down, pulling her into her   
friend's chest.   
  
She could feel the way their bodies seemed to mold together, could   
smell the soft baby powder, could feel her friend's heartbeat. She   
couldn't... she wasn't... she leaned forward, feeling the gentle brush   
of their lips.   
  
There was a groan of pleasure... Oh, those hands...   
  
"Oh, Kerry..."   
  
She reached out and entangled her hand into the thick curls of   
blonde...   
  
..... and brought Kim closer until they were all that there was. The kiss   
becoming deeper, but without the bloodlust she was used to.   
  
She took pleasure from the warmth of her lithe body pressing her into   
the soft mattress. Her left hand began to go for Kim's waist, stopping   
as the pain shot through her body.   
  
Kim gently broke the kiss and sat back on the mattress. "I'm glad to   
see you, too..."   
  
Kerry blinked with embarrassment as she took in the three men in the   
motel room. Peter simply shook his head with a little smirk, letting   
her know he was greatly amused. Robie was next to him, clearing his   
throat while giving them both an appreciative look. John was standing   
away, holding a tray with soup and hot tea. He was slightly red and   
the look in his eyes let her know he didn't like what he'd just seen.   
  
Kerry tried to sit up, wincing as her muscles protested the action. Kim   
leaned over, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and helping her up.   
Kerry found her face inches from Kim's. She found her heart racing   
faster as the blonde smiled at her.   
  
Settling with her back against the headboard, she saw John glare at Kim   
before moving to her side and planting the tray in front of her. "Here,   
this should help get you warm."   
  
Kerry careful raised a spoonful of broth and swallowed it. The burning   
liquid hit her empty stomach hard then rumbled loudly. She dived into   
the soup, enjoying the warmth that it brought to her body.   
  
"I know you've been through a lot, but we need to know what happened?"   
  
Kerry scowled at Robie. She didn't want to have to deal with him right   
now, but understood the necessity behind it. "I'll tell you what   
happened. Boyd called and said that I had to get to Fort Nelson. That   
it was a life or death matter. Then the only flight I could find was   
with some Irish guy that would make Romano look like a kitten. Not to   
mention the two passengers that had red dove tattoos who started   
shooting at me while we were still in the air."   
  
"And you parachuted out," Robie finished softly. "Now are you sure that   
it was of red doves?"   
  
Kerry didn't bother answering him. If he didn't get it the first time   
then that was his problem. She downed the last of the soup starting to   
feel warm inside. The baggy sweat suit and thick socks taking care of   
her outside. Peter took her bowl and quietly left the room.   
  
She settled back, becoming aware of Kim sitting right next to her on   
the bed. Feeling suddenly self-conscious and more than a little chilly,   
she pulled the thick comforter tighter around her body.   
  
"Damn. This smells of a conspiracy. The UAIA is sealed too tightly for   
there to be just one or two breeches. The only way they could get away   
with any of this was if..." Robie trailed off murmuring to himself.   
  
The yawn took Kerry by surprise as her eyes became too heavy to keep   
open. Her head rolled to the side, searching for a pillow, and came to   
rest on something soft that smelled of baby powder and the mountains   
after a heavy rain. She snuggled closer as two warm arms engulfed her,   
holding her safe from the past few days.   
  
  
  
John stared blankly as Kerry snuggled into Kim's arms. That didn't mean   
anything, though. She'd just been through a tough ordeal, she was tired   
and needed to feel safe. Kim was there, she was available, that was   
all.   
  
If he'd been the one sitting next to her, than it would have been him   
she'd have kissed. Him that held her while she'd slept. He wanted her   
to be happy and she would be happy... with him. She wasn't gay, she   
wasn't bi, she wasn't even bi-curious.   
  
He turned away from the sight before him and left the hotel room.   
  
"Hey, you okay?"   
  
John leaned against the beam between the catwalk and the roof, trying   
to ignore that all-knowing look that Peter tended to get. "Fine."   
  
Peter nodded thoughtfully. "I'll tell you, that was some kiss in   
there. Going to be dreaming about that for a while. Two beautiful women   
going at it like that. Firm and lean, with just enough curves to make a   
man sweat. You know, even back when I first knew Kerry, she had the   
kind of body that..."   
  
"You're REALLY not helping, Peter," Carter broke in, irritably.   
  
The older man grinned, glad to get a rise out of Carter. He had a   
great affection for his former student, but it was so much easier to   
express it by needling and aggravating the kid. "Had a different   
effect on you, though, didn't it?"   
  
John nodded helplessly. "I'm in love with her."   
  
"Legaspi?"   
  
"NO! With...!" John nearly choked on his exasperation before he   
realized that Peter was kidding him. He just hoped his blush of   
embarrassment would cover the heartbreak he was feeling inside.   
  
Peter sighed. He'd suspected that the young man had a thing for Kerry,   
but he'd always assumed it was just a crush. The way a pupil would feel   
about a teacher. What made it worse was the fact that John believed   
that Kerry felt the same way about him. "Carter..."   
  
"I know what you're going to say." John smiled brightly at him. "I   
already know that Kerry isn't into women. Kim doesn't stand a chance   
with her. Tonight was just exhaustion mixed with shock. Once she gets   
some rest, she'll let Kim down and then... Anyway, I should probably   
try and get some sleep. Goodnight."   
  
" 'Night, Carter." Peter shook his head. Sometimes Carter's naive   
nature was a major drawback, and this time there would be consequences.   
  
  
  
  



	5. Default Chapter Title

Title: Missing In Action   
Part: 5/?   
Rating: R.   
Pairing: KW, KL, JC, PB   
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles   
Spoilers: Season Seven   
  
Disclaimer: They belong to TPTB, I'm just taking them out for a much needed work out.   
  
  
  
  
  
"She isn't in any shape to do much of anything. She needs to be in a   
hospital where she can be observed. For all I know she could be   
suffering from pneumonia or have some sort of internal bleeding."   
  
Robie's natural ability to look calm and relaxed no matter what the   
situation was starting to become strained. Everything was falling apart   
on him. He'd always assumed that only a few IRA soldiers had   
infiltrated the UAIA, but the evidence over the last two years had been   
pointing to a more complete takeover. One that would have to go all the   
way back to when the UAIA was first put together. Which meant he was   
dealing with someone with far more power than he'd originally been   
prepared to deal with.   
  
Now Benton was very firmly... 'suggesting' that he couldn't use Kerry.   
His one and only means to stop this. They were so close to finally   
getting all the answers they needed, and Benton wanted him to ignore   
that. "Look, I understand that," he answered the surgeon reasonably,   
"but we can't risk it. The Agency thinks that Kerry is IRA and has   
already tried to kill her. If you take her to a hospital, they will be   
all over her and she'll be dead before she can be admitted."   
  
Peter's statement darkened considerably as he took a step toward Robie.   
"Since when does the government assassinate people?"   
  
"Since the Agency doesn't exist. Since the world's powers decided that   
terrorism was an evil that needed to be wiped out. Since Kerry has   
suddenly gone from harmless and useful to an active danger that they   
couldn't predict." Robie stared up at the towering bulk and smirked.   
"Truthfully, I'm surprised they waited this long."   
  
"You're telling me that you pulled Kerry into this, knowing that at   
some point your little club would try to kill her?"   
  
Robie eyed the surgeon, feeling a little anxious. Benton wasn't much of   
a fighter but he could hold his own. He had a large mass of muscle and   
that only gave him a small advantage. Add to the facts that Benton who   
was normally very cool in the face of most events, but could go into a   
berserker rage if angered enough. Thinking it over, Robie decided that   
filling Benton in on all that probably wasn't the smartest move he'd   
ever made. "You could say that."   
  
"Are you two finished? Or do I need to send you to your rooms?"   
  
As one, they turned in surprise to see Kerry standing in the doorway,   
leaning heavily on a crutch. John's right arm was securely around her   
waist, despite the deadly looks Kerry was throwing at him. Peter had no   
doubt that Carter was going to pay for his mothering when they got back   
to county.   
  
Kim was standing just behind Kerry, looking impeccably calm and   
collected. She even had a small smile on her face, one that he would   
have believed if her eyes hadn't quickly scanned Kerry's waist where   
Carter was holding her.   
  
"I don't think that's necessary. We were just...discussing what we   
should do now." Robie had picked Kerry to help him mainly because she   
was like a snapping turtle, once she got hold of something she believed   
in she didn't let go. An asset he was counting on right now.   
  
Kerry stared at him sharply, clearly not believing that he'd said   
something so incredibly stupid. "We're going after my bastard of a   
husband is what we're doing. Unless you'd prefer to go back home and   
crawl back into your cage."   
  
Robie clucked his tongue slightly, unable to quite hide his amused   
grin. Kerry definitely had a colorful vocabulary, but considering that   
she could tell someone off in at least six different languages, that   
wasn't much of a shocker. "Well now, I guess that's settled. I'll just   
go get my bag..."   
  
"Not so fast. I don't care what she says. The only place we're going is   
to the nearest hospital." Peter avoided looking at Kerry out of   
self-preservation. He was taking a stand that would end with him in   
pain.   
  
Robie's inscrutable face showed no reaction for a moment. Then,   
unexpectedly, he smiled pleasantly and replied, "Very well. We'll do it   
your way."   
  
  
  
Kerry leaned back in the passenger seat, scowling deeply at Carter and   
Benton in the car parked next to them. She felt her face darken   
considerably as Robie backed out of the parking space and slowly turned   
onto the deserted mountain road.   
  
"You can stop scaring the children now, they can no longer see you."   
  
Kerry's faked mood evaporated immediately. One hurdle had been   
by-passed. The only problem so far was Kim. The blonde was way too   
suspicious and, in the process, was causing her and Robie some undue   
quandaries. Including her demanding that she ride with them.   
  
"So are you two going to tell me what you're up to?"   
  
Damn. Kerry peered into the back seat at Kim and gave her the 'I'm   
clueless but in control' look. "I'm afraid I don't understand," she   
lied in her practiced manner.   
  
It didn't work. "Now I know you're up to something." Kim glanced from   
Kerry's angelic look that was more devilish than anything to Robie's   
sweet charming smile that reminded her of a cartoon she'd seen of an   
innocent-looking cat that had a small feather sticking out from the   
corner of his mouth.   
  
Kerry ignored the insinuation and turned to their driver. "There's a   
dirt road about half a mile up on your left," she said. "It runs   
through ten miles of thick forest and comes out the same place that   
this one does." At Robie's questioning look, she cocked an eyebrow.   
"Well you want to lose Spock and McCoy back there... Don't you?"   
  
Kim fell back abruptly as he floored the gas pedal and turned the   
steering wheel hard, the sports car skidding sideways five feet before   
jumping forward onto the small path at sixty miles an hour and   
climbing.   
  
  
  
"Damn it. What the hell are they doing?"   
  
Peter slammed on the gas pedal, trying to keep sight of the rapidly   
disappearing car. He never should have let them ride in a car together.   
  
  
The problem, of course, had been keeping Kim and Carter from sharing a   
car. Those two were being civil, but it didn't take a mind reader to   
see they were both bombs ready to go off, and in his opinion when they   
went off it would be a whole lot safer if they were miles apart.   
  
The other problem had been Kerry. Carter didn't want to leave Kerry   
alone with Kim for any period of time. Kim, on the other hand, didn't   
trust Carter around Kerry at all. On top of all that there were only   
two cars, which meant either one of them was going to have to ride with   
Kerry or with each other.   
  
Both he and Robie had decided that Kim was better off with Robie and   
Kerry. Mainly because Carter was acting like a mother who just found   
her long lost son. To say that it was aggravating Kerry would be an   
incredible understatement.   
  
Not that Kim wasn't worried also. She was, it was just she was   
downplaying it according to what mood Kerry was in. He had been so   
caught up with those problems that it never occurred to him just how   
dangerous those three would be together.   
  
The large SUV bounced violently as he tried to close some of the   
distance between them. Peter glared through the dirty, snow-covered   
windshield and decided he was never going to underestimate them like   
that again.   
  
  
  
Kerry watched passively as the red SUV sped past the black mustang with   
no signs of slowing down. She had to admit that she was a little   
disappointed that they were so easy to lose. She'd always had a secret   
wish to be in a car chase.   
  
Two minutes slid by before Robie pulled out of the covered driveway. By   
now, Benton was probably realizing that he'd lost them and, hopefully,   
he would play it smart and head straight for the private airfield.   
  
Kerry had doubts he'd do that, though. Her experience with him told her   
that he would find a way to catch up with them, but she couldn't think   
about that right now. Hesitantly she took the cell phone from the glove   
compartment.   
  
"What are you doing?"   
  
"Baiting the trap." She dialed the number that Boyd had given her for   
his hotel room, for once grateful for her memory. By the time she'd   
been a third year resident, she'd learned to memorize anything she   
thought was important within a matter of minutes.   
  
  
  
"Then she's dead."   
  
The darker man stared at him neutrally, not impressed by the either   
older man's threatening manner, or the gun holstered to his waist. "We   
believe so."   
  
"You believe?" Quiet and solemn. He had to keep his anger reeled in. He   
couldn't afford to lose control right now. "Either she's dead or she's   
not. Now which is it?"   
  
Ryan stared at him unblinking for a long moment. "They never found her   
body."   
  
His hand came to rest on the gun while he struggled against his   
instinct to simply blow this guy away. "Then she's alive."   
  
"Maybe."   
  
Breathe. He ground his teeth loudly as he forced his lungs to take deep   
breaths. He was calm, he could handle this. His hand started to shake   
as it clenched the handle of the gun. " Is...she...a...live?"   
  
Instead of tensing up, his bodyguard and assistant relaxed. "Possibly."   
  
  
In one swift move, the gun was unholstered and pointed at Ryan's   
forehead. Strangely, the bodyguard took this in stride, finally showing   
some sign of life, in the form of faint amusement.   
  
Grrr. Just a tiny bit of pressure and the hair trigger would respond.   
Gradually his finger tightened, if he listened close enough he could   
hear the chamber pulling back... Just a little more, and...   
  
The phone rang.   
  
He paused in contemplation. That wasn't supposed to happen. There was   
supposed to be a loud bang. A hole was supposed to appear in Ryan's   
forehead... and... blood. Yes, there was supposed to be...   
  
The phone ran a second time.   
  
Damn it. Didn't people have any since of respect? How the hell was a   
man supposed to kill in peace if he was always being interrupted? He   
cocked his head; oh well, he'd just have to answer...   
  
NO!! Whoever it was could just wait. He was going to finish this first,   
then he'd answer the phone. Yes. That would work....   
  
It rang a third time.   
  
He sighed as he finger relaxed on the trigger. It just wasn't fair.   
  
He didn't ask much. Did he? No. All he wanted was to have a little   
peace and quiet. How else could he decide who deserved the right to   
live and who deserved to die? ...   
  
It rang a fourth time.   
  
Sighing heavily, he reached over and picked up the receiver. "WHAT?!"   
  
  
  
Kerry closed the cell phone silently. He had not been happy. She'd   
probably just interrupted one of his trials of life and death. Probably   
about to carry out an execution.   
  
She never could quite understand why the IRA had taken him in. They   
were cold-blooded, but not in the way Boyd was. They always held a   
sense of duty and didn't take pleasure from it. To them it was a war.   
With Boyd, it was about playing God, and the pleasure he got from it.   
  
"Well?"   
  
"He's expecting me in an hour. Alone." Kerry sat back and waited for   
them to start protesting, but whatever their personal thoughts, there   
was no other choice in the matter.   
  
  



	6. Default Chapter Title

Title: Missing In Action   
Part: 6/?   
Rating: R   
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles   
Pairing: KW, KL, JC, PB, Ensemble   
  
Disclaimer: Isn't it Ironic? Don't you think.   
  
  
  
Robert stared at Elizabeth's door, feeling out of his depth for once.   
He shouldn't have come, he didn't belong here. He was the outsider, the   
one everyone hated. Even Kerry, who could be cruel in her own right,   
was at least respected.   
  
I should just leave, now, before someone answers the door. Robert   
nervously turned and started towards the elevator.   
  
"Robert?"   
  
'Damn. I've been busted.' He spun around and forced a large smile,   
quickly closing the distance. "I was just starting to think I was given   
the wrong information."   
  
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth made no move to let him in, in   
fact she seemed to shift further over blocking the door as what he said   
registered in her mind. "What information?"   
  
"The wake." He couldn't help but feel a little angry when Elizabeth got   
a confused expression on her face. "You are having a wake tonight,   
aren't you?"   
  
Elizabeth eyed the brown paper bag in his arms. "Yes, of course. What I   
meant was..." She paused a moment before deciding he didn't have any   
feelings to hurt. "You're an unfeeling, inconsiderate, male chauvinist   
bastard. So what are you getting out of this?"   
  
"Look, are you going to let me in or not?" Robert glared at her until   
she'd reluctantly moved out of his way. He knew he deserved that, it   
was the truth most of the time, but not always. Not now.   
  
He brushed past her, ignoring the fact that everyone stopped talking to   
stare at him. 'Great. I try to show some ounce of feeling for one time   
in my life, and everyone gets freaked out.' Robert sat the bag on the   
nearby table, "I have beer and wine," he stated. "Figure you can't   
have too much at a time like this."   
  
There was no response as he glanced around the solemn room. No one was   
making any attempt to at least pretend he was welcome there. Elizabeth   
still had the door open and was waiting for him to leave.   
  
"What kind of beer?"   
  
Robert blinked as his redemption came from an unexpected source. Doug   
Ross gave him a small grin and opened the bag, taking out two beers and   
handing one to him. The others seemed to relax and started to quietly   
talk again.   
  
"Thanks."   
  
Doug nodded in thought. "They reacted the same way when I showed up   
earlier. They thought, because Kerry and I were always fighting, that I   
couldn't possibly care about her." He stared down at the bottle of beer   
for a long moment. "The truth is, I'm going to miss her."   
  
  
  
"Well?"   
  
"She's arrived fifteen minutes ago."   
  
"Is she alone?"   
  
"Yes, sir."   
  
"Good. Then take care of it."   
  
"Yes, sir."   
  
"Oh, and Boyd? This time, no mistakes."   
  
Boyd shut the cell phone, trying to keep his temper in check. He wasn't   
the one who'd messed up. It was the paper-pusher that messed up. Not   
that it mattered, or at least it wouldn't in about five minutes.   
  
"I've got a shot," said Ryan's flat voice beside him. As always, Ryan   
showed no sign of emotion.   
  
Boyd scanned the ground where his assistant lay with the sniper rifle.   
If he told Ryan to take the shot, then it would be over and She'd be   
out of his way. But then there'd be no trial, no sentence, no   
execution.   
  
No fun.   
  
"No, I'll take care of her myself."   
  
  
  
She could hear someone approaching. Each step was well thought-out and   
quiet. Avoiding any twigs or leaves that might give away his presence.   
Anyone else might not have known that he was out there, anyone but her.   
  
He'd kept her waiting a good twenty minutes already, and she was   
starting to get nervous. She was married to him, and knew all his   
little quirks. Including how he liked to psych out his prey. One of   
which was keeping them waiting.   
  
"I didn't make you wait too long, did I?"   
  
Kerry carefully glanced over at Boyd. "No. I just got here." It was a   
necessary lie. If she didn't give him the impression that she was   
unconcerned then he'd know he was in control over her.   
  
"That's good to hear." His hand brushed against the gun holstered to   
his right thigh. "How was your flight out here?"   
  
"It was... interesting. There were even two handsome men on board."   
  
Boyd's hand came to a light rest on the gun. "Really?"   
  
"In fact you could say they were drop-dead gorgeous." Kerry watched his   
hand flinch on the gun's grip. 'Bingo.' "They even had tattoos."   
  
Boyd dropped the charming mask and pulled his gun out. Feeling the   
weight in his hand, taking comfort from the stinging calm against his   
bare palm. "You should have accepted your sentence like a good girl.   
Instead you've only made things worse."   
  
"Boyd, since when have you ever known me to just accept anything?" she   
sneered. "I didn't accept your mysterious activities when we were   
married either, remember? All those times you told me you were out   
bowling, or drinking with the boys, and you were out plotting to kill   
or terrorize people?"   
  
Boyd pursed his lips together giving her a frightening smile of   
amusement. "Yes. I can see your point. After bearing witness to all the   
evidence presented to the court I have made my decision." He raised the   
gun, pointing it towards her heart. "I find you guilty, and I sentence   
you to death. The sentence is to be carried out immediately." He cocked   
his head to the side, his unnaturally black eyes drilling into hers.   
"Any last requests?"   
  
Kerry's eyes narrowed. He wasn't even pretending anymore, was he? Not   
bothering to show any trace of the charming side he'd displayed when   
they dated. Even after they were wed, that side made occasional   
appearances, but now he had nothing but contempt and disdain for her.   
  
No, she realized, he felt something more. A hatred for her so intense   
that he'd go to great lengths to arrange her death. But why now?   
After all these years apart, why contact her now?   
  
"Who was it?" she asked him. "The mole in the Agency?"   
  
He smirked. "Senator Jefferson," he replied casually, and raised the   
gun. "And if that was the question uppermost on your mind, then I   
guess our marriage really is over, isn't it?"   
  
Kerry tensed as the gunshot rang out...   
  
  
  
Kim's head shot up as she heard the first gunshot...followed by a   
second and a third. Her adrenaline pushed her faster and faster as she   
raced up the trail. Slamming through bushes and trees, her only concern   
was Kerry.   
  
The old Mountie cabin seemed to come out of nowhere as she entered the   
small clearing. She tensed as she saw Boyd lying in a puddle of blood.   
His hand clenching to a gun as though it was his very soul.   
  
She brought her eyes to rest on Kerry, who was staring out into the   
forest at a tightly bunched group of trees. She stopped next to her and   
watched curiously as a tall, broad-shouldered man stood up. A long   
rifle was in his hands. He locked eyes with Kerry for a long minute,   
nodding once, then turning and running deeper into the woods.   
  
Kim wasn't sure what had just happened, but then again nothing on this   
trip could be classified as normal.   
  
"Kim..." Kerry was wincing openly as her left leg seemed to become dead   
weight. Risking bodily harm, Kim put her arm around her waist, acting   
as a second crutch for her friend.   
  
Kerry shifted, putting her arm around Kim and throwing her a grateful   
look. She hated to be helped, hated to depend on anyone, but then again   
the idea of falling on her face was even more terrifying.   
  
The simple fact was that she'd made a conscious decision to ignore her   
leg. The minute she'd jumped out of that plane, she knew she wasn't   
able to walk on it, but she had no choice. Just like she didn't have a   
choice when she agreed to meet Boyd, but now she could afford to give   
in to her body's weaknesses.   
  
She let Kim to guide her towards the car, her steps a slow, painful   
lurch. Each step was agony for her. 'Where the hell is Robie when I   
need him?'   
  
  
  
"What the hell were you thinking?!"   
  
Kim raised an eyebrow at Carter, struggling not to laugh. Once they got   
into the air, the young man had yanked her into the bathroom and   
exploded. His face was red and taut; if that wasn't bad enough, his   
body was shaking with anger. Not that she thought that sort of thing   
was funny, it was just seeing someone who's usually so tame like this.   
"Me? Robie was the one who was driving."   
  
"You could have done something. Kerry has had a hard three days, the   
last thing she needed was to be dragged into a...a..."   
  
Kim crossed her arms lazily and offered. "...a dangerous, unpredictable   
situation."   
  
"...she could have been hurt or...or..."   
  
Kim covered her mouth as Carter started to sputter. "...killed?" The   
snicker escaped before she could stop it, and she tried she really did.   
  
"Do you think this is funny?" Carter asked sharply.   
  
"John, nobody makes her do anything she doesn't want to." Kim softened   
under his angry gaze. "I'm sure Kerry appreciates your concern, but it   
was her choice, and right now the last thing she needs is for us to be   
arguing. Or have you forgotten that, as long as the senator is around,   
her life's in danger?"   
  
Kim left the bathroom and sat next to Kerry. They hadn't gotten a   
chance to talk about the kiss they'd shared. All day, Kerry's behavior   
toward her had been strained and awkward, but there was a definite   
undercurrent.   
  
"What did John want?"   
  
"He wanted to debate the pro's and con's of life and death decisions in   
the face of adversity."   
  
Kerry laughed softly and brushed Kim's hand nervously. "So, basically,   
he was angry over my little stunt."   
  
Kim chuckled with her. She wondered how Kerry would react to her   
holding her hand, and if it was worth risking death. The confused,   
happy glint in Kerry's grey eyes took her breath away. 'Yes it's worth   
it.'   
  
She gently took Kerry's hand, letting her fingers play with the soft   
skin. Kerry's hand tightened suddenly and jerked away.   
  
"Ow. Damn it." Kerry grabbed her thigh and started to work the muscles,   
trying desperately to loosen them.   
  
"Is it your leg?" Kim moved to kneel in front of Kerry and laid her   
hands over Kerry's, softly rubbing each knot as she encountered them.   
  
  
  
John stared numbly at Kim kneeling in front of Kerry, her hands on her   
upper thigh. They were talking softly just low enough that he couldn't   
hear them. Kerry was looking increasingly anxious.   
  
Kim started to pull her hands away, stopping as Kerry grabbed them.   
Kerry took a shaky breath, then slowly leaned in and kissed her.   
  
John backed away until his legs hit something soft. His knees collapsed   
and he found himself seated. His hand latched onto the armrest as the   
kiss became more intense. He closed his eyes against the scene, but he   
could still see behind his eyes.   
  
  



	7. Default Chapter Title

  
  
Title: Missing In Action   
Part: 7/?   
Rating: R   
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles   
Pairing: KW, KL, JC, PB, Ensemble   
  
Disclaimer: Isn't it Ironic? Don't you think.   
  
  
  
Robert threw the chart at the admittance desk. It had been three days   
since the plane crash, he'd already lost his chief of emergency   
services, and three more of his doctors had decided to take a vacation.   
Leaving him with the clean up.   
  
"Dr. Romano, you've got a call on line one."   
  
"Can't you see I'm busy? Take a message!" In fact, he wasn't doing   
anything at the moment, just standing there, scowling at anything that   
moved.   
  
"He says he's calling about Dr. Weaver."   
  
Robert eyed Randi, looking for some hint of malice.   
  
The desk clerk leaned closer and whispered softly. "It's some agent   
named Robie."   
  
"Great, just what I need, another agent."   
  
  
  
Peter tightened his seat belt again, purposefully ignoring a withdrawn   
Carter. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous. After everything   
that Kerry and Robie had told him, he kept thinking of all the possible   
disasters.   
  
"So what do we do when we land?"   
  
"We get Kerry to the hospital." Peter glared at the two women, daring   
them to contradict him on this. They'd already crossed him once that   
day and he was in no mood.   
  
"What about Jefferson? If he finds Kerry...."   
  
"I can take care of myself..." Kerry was starting to get angry.   
Everyone kept talking about her like she was some invalid. She could   
handle that, she handled that sort of prejudice everyday of her life,   
but to then add insult to injury. Peter and John were demanding that   
she get checked out. "...and I don't need to go to the hospital."   
  
Kim rubbed her hand and spoke softly. "I know, but we should put their   
fears to rest. Otherwise they'll never leave you alone."   
  
"Fine, but I'm not staying overnight," Kerry muttered just loud enough   
for Kim and Peter to hear her, the silent threat very clear.   
  
  
  
The tall, lean shadow entered the second-story window with   
long-practiced ease, his long legs gracefully taking him to the side of   
the bed. He stared down at the senator, taking in the age-faded red   
hair with peppered gray.   
  
Here he was at last, the man who had infiltrated the Agency, protecting   
and supporting the IRA in the process. Many of Robie's colleagues had   
met untimely ends in the course of Jefferson's run, and another - Kerry   
Weaver - was still in danger.   
  
'Well, senator,' Robie thought silently, 'it's time for your big   
finish...'   
  
  
  
Robert pushed the wheelchair through the scarcely-used side door, in   
time to see Carter and Legaspi helping Kerry out of the jeep. Peter was   
standing back, not bothering to interfere with the trio. "Well," Robert   
stated, "it looks like I'm right on time."   
  
"Robert, what...?"   
  
Robert ignored Kerry, afraid that he might say something that he'd   
regret. "Robie called me and let me know what was going on. I've got an   
exam room closed off and waiting for you. I've also taken the liberty   
of creating a fake chart for you. Now will one of you gentlemen be kind   
enough to help 'Miss Walsh' into the wheelchair?"   
  
Peter's jaw snapped closed. "Uh...yeah, sure."   
  
Kerry rolled her eyes and lowered herself into the wheel chair, too   
exhausted to put up much of a fight. She sank down into it as Robert   
pushed her back inside. The long hall that ran past the exam rooms   
seemed vaguely abandoned. "Where is everyone?"   
  
Robert threw the door to exam two open and pushed her on inside. "For   
some reason they got the idea that I'd be conducting a surprise   
inspection of the ER late tonight. Now... let's see what kind of shape   
you're in."   
  
  
  
Ryan moved through the halls of the silent household, his impassive   
face showing nothing as he prepared his report for the senator's   
benefit.   
  
Jefferson's suspicions about Boyd Campbell had been correct; the man   
was too much of a loose cannon. More interested in killing   
unnecessarily than advancing the cause. Men like that were what gave   
the IRA a bad name, Jefferson had said, and Ryan had to agree.   
  
This latest obsession had been Campbell's downfall. His insistence   
that he'd only carry out the latest operation in Washington if he could   
first eliminate his treacherous estranged wife had been disturbing. A   
true professional doesn't let such things get in the way of business.   
But then, even after throwing away the lives of four men in an attempt   
to kill Dr. Weaver, Campbell had passed up a chance to let Ryan take   
her out, clean and safe, instead unable to resist the urge to make   
direct contact with her.   
  
In that event, the senator's instructions had been clear: Eliminate   
Campbell. His relationship with Weaver had posed a threat in the past.   
If he had a chance to speak to her again without Ryan present to   
overhear, they couldn't be sure he wouldn't leak something to her.   
  
So Ryan had taken the shot as ordered, and one of their biggest   
liabilities had been removed. Jefferson would just have to make other   
arrangements about Washington.   
  
The only problem was that he might not have fired in time. Campbell   
had spoken with Weaver for a few seconds. There was always the   
possibility that he'd said something to her in that time. The senator   
might still find it necessary to have her dealt with, but that was his   
decision, not Ryan's. He stopped in front of the dark oak double   
doors, and knocked.   
  
There was no noise, no response. He took the two silver knobs in his   
hands and threw the doors open. In the dim moonlight he could see where   
Jefferson lay. He could also see a glass on the nightstand, and next to   
it a bottle of sleeping pills.   
  
Ryan approached the bed taking in the peace expression on the still   
man's face. He turned on the lamp and picked up the bottle. It was   
empty...   
  
Well, that made his report a little moot, didn't it?   
  
  
  
"...There doesn't seem to be anything that a week of rest won't take   
care of." Robert figured a week without Weaver was a small price to   
pay. Besides, three days without her or the others had left one hell of   
a mess for her to clean up.   
  
"For once, you'll get no argument from me." Kerry swung her feet around   
and started to get up. She wanted to get out of there, now.   
  
"I'll drive you home," Kim volunteered before Carter could even think   
about it. She wanted to spend some time alone with her. They still had   
a lot to talk about.   
  
"Really?" Robert replied. "You going to bodyguard her, too? Or is   
this Robie guy gonna take care of that?"   
  
"No, and no," Kerry answered for her. "Boyd's dead, and the senator   
will have too many people investigating him to worry about me. I do   
not need a damn bodyguard!"   
  
"Kerry...!" Carter and Kim began at the same time, then glanced at each   
other. Whatever else they disagreed about, on this they were of like   
mind.   
  
The tension was broken as Peter walked briskly into the room. "You   
hear the news?" he asked everyone.   
  
"What news?" Robert asked for them all.   
  
"It was just on CNN. Senator Jefferson killed himself while staying at   
his Washington home. Apparently he'd just been diagnosed with HIV. The   
virus that causes Aids," he added unnecessarily.   
  
There was a moment as this new development sank in.   
  
"Well, I guess that means you don't have to keep pretending you're   
dead," Robert stated, as if it were nothing important. "Maybe now we   
can stop all this spy crap and get back to work." He walked out   
without another word.   
  
The remaining group looked at each other. "Pretty convenient, huh?"   
Peter said, the implication clear in his voice. "The one guy who might   
have reason to kill you suddenly ends up dead?"   
  
Kerry kept her face impassive. "He was responsible for a lot of people   
dying, Peter," she said. "Sometimes, fate just gives people what they   
deserve."   
  
"Kerry, excuse me, but everyone in this room knows that's utter   
bullshit," he replied, quietly, his gaze intense. "And where's your   
pal Robie gotten to?"   
  
She met it with an equally steady look. "We're all better off not   
knowing a lot of things," she said. And it was clear that it was her   
last word on the subject.   
  
Peter met her eyes with cold understanding, then turned and left the   
room. John paused, feeling like an intruder, then followed him.   
  
Out in the hall, he leaned against the wall and tried to sort out his   
feelings. He knew he should be relieved that Kerry was all right, and   
no longer in danger, but all he felt was emptiness. Part of it was the   
sense that huge, far-reaching events had transpired just outside his   
awareness, things that had nothing to do with him and were beyond his   
control. But more, he knew that the part he wanted to play in her life   
was filled by someone else. He had tried to make himself believe that   
Kerry wasn't interested in Kim, but now, he couldn't deny it. He knew   
it was selfish of him, but he just felt unappreciated and rejected by   
someone who meant a great deal to him.   
  
There was a touch at his shoulder, and he looked into Kim's gentle   
eyes. "John, do you have a moment?" she asked. "Kerry wanted to see   
you, alone."   
  
It amazed him that she seemed to have none of the resentment towards   
him that he felt towards her. But then, she was the one in Kerry's   
favor. He nodded and moved past her, into Kerry's room.   
  
Kerry lay back in the hospital bed, watching Carter curiously. The   
younger man stood up and moved to sit on the side of the bed. His hand   
came to rest over hers. She took it warmly, in one of her rare   
gestures of affection. "You wanted to see me?" he asked.   
  
She nodded. "I thought we should talk," she said. "I get the feeling   
you wanted to say something, or maybe to ask me something."   
  
Oh Lord, could she see how he felt? Was he that transparent? "There   
is," he said. "How...how could you...?" The words wouldn't come out.   
He didn't even know himself how the question would end.   
  
"How could I risk my life that way?" she filled in. "Or how could I   
have married a man like that?"   
  
Actually, he was thinking, how could she want Kim instead of him?   
"Yeah, both of those," he lied.   
  
"I suppose I should tell you it's none of your business," she said,   
patting the back of his hand, "but I want to be honest with you, John.   
Kim's told me all the things you've done to help find me, and how   
concerned you've been. That means a lot to me."   
  
He forced a smile, like it was no big deal.   
  
"Boyd Campbell was the most exciting man I had ever met," she began.   
"And then, when Robie recruited me, and it all sounded so dangerous and   
exotic, well...you have to remember, I was young and stupid back then.   
I was abandoned by my real parents, I've been disabled all my life, and   
I was nursing a bit of a self-destructive urge, so I threw myself into   
every adventure I could find, no matter how crazy. Along the way,   
thank God, I met people like Gabe Lawrence and Amelia Rynes, who helped   
me tame that wild streak and focus it constructively. For a while, I   
thought Robie was one of them."   
  
"But he dragged you into a life that could have killed you."   
  
Kerry met his eyes and smiled sadly. "I know. I knew that, even then.   
That was part of its attraction."   
  
"Apparently it still is," he said bitterly. "Why on earth did you   
agree to meet him now?"   
  
She looked away. "I know that doesn't make sense to you," she replied,   
"and I don't know if I can explain. For better or for worse, Boyd was   
a part of my life. He told me he needed my help to get out of the   
life, and I felt I owed him that chance. If he was telling the truth,   
I'd help him, if not, I'd try to find out what he was up to."   
  
"Kerry, didn't you think he might try to kill you?"   
  
Their eyes met again. "I had to take that risk. I loved him once, or   
the man I thought he was, and yet I betrayed him. It's a part of my   
character, John, I end up hurting all the people I care about."   
  
She squeezed his hand a little tighter at that, and he wondered if   
maybe she did know how he felt, after all. Was that why she had chosen   
someone else over him? "So...you're going home with Kim until you're   
better?"   
  
Kerry nodded. "I don't know exactly how I feel about her," she said,   
the first hint of uncertainty entering her voice, "but I think that's   
another risk I need to take."   
  
John considered that, then nodded.   
  
"Did you have any other questions?"   
  
"No," he said. "I just wanted to say, uh, I... I lo.... I'm glad   
you're okay..."   
  
Her smile was warm. "Thank you, John."   
  
Carter let go of her hand and stood. As much as he loved her, he had   
to admire and respect her more. And part of loving someone, he was   
discovering, was supporting them in the choices they made, whether they   
were the choices he'd hope for or not. "I'll let Kim know you're ready   
to go, okay?"   
  
Kerry nodded tiredly, only wanting to go home and sleep. Maybe even   
celebrate her new divorce.   
  
  



End file.
